Saturday Mass Arrivals

[CivEngPE]

I am trying to plan my arrival on Saturday and was wondering what time might be best to avoid the mass arrivals. Does anyone have any insight into the best timing? Is there a website that list all of the expected mass arrival times?

Thanks,
Shannon

[Fred Stadler]

Shannon,
Glad to hear that you are planning your trip to AirVenture!

The (soon to be released!) AirVenture NOTAM is your basic planning document and it lists general times for the Large Formation Arrival groups on page 6.

For Saturday, July 23rd, a group of Cherokees is expected at 11:00, a large group of Bonanzas at 1:00, and a large group of Cessnas at 2:30. Of course many factors, including weather, can cause any flights, including these, to arrive at other than their planned times.

A general rule of thumb for AirVenture arrivals is that early morning arrivals usually have the fewest delays. But you should always arrive with plenty of fuel, some patience, and plans for diversion to alternate airports. See you at Oshkosh!

-Fred Stadler
AirVenture volunteer NOTAM chairman

[CivEngPE]

Thanks Fred,I didn't realize these would be listed in the notam. I would love to get there early, but I'm picking my 8yo nephew up in Dallas on my way, and I'm not sure his mom would be keen on meeting me at 4AM! Thanks for the info! Shannon

[dougbush]

Shannon, I wouldn't worry about the mass arrivals. Every time I've done the Cessna Mass Arrival, the group has landed in less than 15 minutes, and only used runways 36L and 36R. Runway 9/27 was open for other aircraft. And our course was separate from the Fisk Arrival or any other arrival in the NOTAM.

[TeenDoc]

I agree with Doug. Just to clarify, the Cessnas 2 Oshkosh Mass Arrival flight adheres precisely to the LOA between the FAA and the Cessnas 2 Oshkosh organization.

As can be appreciated from the picture below, the Ripon-Fisk Arrival approaches runway 9 from the southwest on a long base to final and the Cessnas 2 Oshkosh Mass Arrival flight approaches runway 36 from the south on a long final. The closest distance between airborne aircraft in each flight would be the distance between the threshold of runways 9 and 36, about a mile. Our landing procedure, as described in the LOA, includes precise instructions in case of go-arounds that mandate a right crosswind turn at the point where the old tower was, way before reaching runway 9-27. Under no circumstance we would cross runway 9-27. The go around procedure for the Ripon-Fisk arrival calls for a runway heading climb and contacting the tower for further instructions.



If every pilot in the Ripon-Fisk arrival follows the 2016 AirVenture NOTAM, as required by FAR, and every pilot in the Cessnas 2 Oshkosh Mass Arrival follows the LOA, also as mandated by FAR, conflicts will be avoided and inherent risks would be managed appropriately.

After ten arrivals under our belt, history tells us of no conflicts as the one feared by some of the pilots approaching OSH via Ripon-Fisk. We've had several uneventful go-arounds over the years and we have never occupied runways 36L and 36R for more than 15 minutes, and that means landing between 50 and 75 aircraft, from Cessnas 150 to Cessnas 310 and clearing the runway within 15 minutes. We train for this flight, we practice it, we brief it (including contingency plans) and we adhere to the briefed flight in the strictest way.

We invite every Cessna pilot to join our arrival this year or any year in the future and experience the peace of mind that each one of us enjoys flying into OSH via the Cessnas 2 Oshkosh Mass Arrival.